Home Distiller

Hello,

I have designed and almost finished building my first condenser. My plan was to cut off the bottom of some glass bottles and place them in each other. like this
I wanted to fill them with glass shards for extra surface area and keep the whole thing in an ice bath. I first wanted to make it airtight by melting the glass together with a blowtorch but the glass fell apart. I am now thinking of filling the cracks with flour paste. To protect it from the water i was just thinking of putting a plastic bag around it (I assume flour paste is not water resistant). like this
I also plan to give the bottle some strength by putting some wooden dowels along them.

Do you guys think that this condenser will work?
How many bottles would I need to not lose to much alcohol ?
Will this contraption produce safe for drinking alcohol?
How many times can I use the same flour paste before i would need to replace it?
Any ideas for improvement are welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Willem

WHY?????
It does not seem safe or efficient.
Putting hot ethanol into freezing cold glass is a recipe for disaster.
A simple liebeg or worm will do the job much more safely and efficiently.
Please be safe in this endeavor

Quite a few details of your concept are missing. For example; which way do you intend for the vapor to go ? Apparently this glass column is intended to be free standing? Or in a box? How do you intend to securely interface either end of your glass column to metal?
-----------------------------------------------
Addressing your questions one at a time:

Do you guys think that this condenser will work?
No.
How many bottles would I need to not lose to much alcohol ?
You haven't shown how you can hold any alcohol in, to begin with.
Will this contraption produce safe for drinking alcohol?
Sure, why not.
How many times can I use the same flour paste before i would need to replace it?
If you intend to put rye past where I assume you intend to, then the paste will probably dissolve continuously.
Any ideas for improvement are welcome.
Skip the idea and move on. Most stills work with some back pressure, a few pounds over atmospheric pressure anyway. You don't want to loose any vapor. But this idea is full of places for potential vapor leaks. Materials like plastics, epoxy glue and silicone caulk are taboo to discuss on this forum, and might be unsafe - although they might stick to glass. Additionally, glass is a fickle material to work with. Glass shards could certainly be used as packing though.

For all the trouble you'll have with trying to use glass. I'd use copper. Glass is to unpredictable.

Do not do this

I looked 3 times to see if this was originally posted April 1st

How about a copper tube wound in a coil and installed inside a plastic bucket filled with water? That's about a easy as it gets and proven to work.

Wildcats wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2023 8:21 am... Glass is too unpredictable…

Actually, it is NOT all that “unpredictable”. CHINGG!

Willem, your idea is a VERY BAD IDEA. Bottles are not lab glass.
I don’t know where you live, but there are better solutions for a condenser.
Look through the construction forum for a few ideas.
ss

Willem wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 12:50 pm Hello to all of you,

I started brewing some beer a while back, but got bored of it pretty fast. I then started to read about distilling and am very interested. I am however very broke and I am trying to build a still for under 20 euro. I will start with my glass bottle condenser tomorrow and i will probably be asking safety questions on "Condensers/Cooling Methods" which I believe to be the correct topic (correct me if I am wrong).

Willem

DON’T DO IT! You’ll shoot your eye out kid! Seriously bad idea.

Obviously the -20€ still confinement is behind this incredibly dangerous idea. As has been mentioned you should be able to find a bit of copper line and a plastic bucket for relatively cheap. Although I’ve thrown plenty of money at this hobby I’m a big supporter of the fact that you can make good Hooch without spending a ton of money. Nothing comes from nothing so you’ll have to spend time and energy to make up for the lack of funds. Keep a look out for freebies and make friends with metal fabricators and HVAC workers. Keep us posted.
Good luck!
Prosit.

Scrap copper is just as good as new copper. Get friendly with your local plumbers, tradesmen and scrap metal dealers.

It's original but it doesn't seem like a good idea (no offense, just my opinion....)

Ah, now I see what you mean with glass condenser.

Ik rust mijn Kees.

My eye was cut in half by a glass bottle when I was 12yo. I’m 52 now and still can’t see out if it. That’s a laceration scar across the top half.

Different circumstances but it does happen.

Cheers,
J

Cheese and Rice JS!

Once, as a 10yo, I was standing around a campfire near the water at a family waterski outing. Someone had thrown an empty wine jug into the fire with its screwtop in place. Once hot enough, it exploded with a bang, the neck and screwtop becoming a hot projectile that shot straight out, sailing perfectly between my legs.

Even if your glass was borosilicate, your design requires good water movement to overcome the poor thermal conductivity of glass.

jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2023 3:14 pm 6995E3C3-E8A9-4981-99CC-ABCF820DCA5D.jpeg

My eye was cut in half by a glass bottle when I was 12yo. I’m 52 now and still can’t see out if it. That’s a laceration scar across the top half.

Different circumstances but it does happen.

Cheers,
J

I'm pretty sorry to hear that Johnny. I would have never know by the pic

Lol! “It was a broken bottle / knife fight and you should see the other guy!”

That’s my story and I’m stickin to it

Cheers,
-j

jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2023 4:50 pm Lol! “It was a broken bottle / knife fight and you should see the other guy!”

That’s my story and I’m stickin to it

Cheers,
-j

Lmao.

To the OP, it seems you want to make a product condenser. Why do you not make a Liebig condenser. You should be able to find shorter sections of 15mm and 22mm coper pipe and fittings. Even if that is to expensive you could use a plactic outer pipe for your water jacket.

The outside tube of a liebig condenser (and some others) doesn't even have to be suitable for alcohol,
it will only be touched by water.

People have used plastic drainpipe quite safely and VERY cheaply.

No, not glass!

Best,

Geoff

I have two Liebigs with clear plastic water jackets. One is over thirty years old and is still in use. That still was made using scrapyard materials and friends welding skills and probably cost me less than a couple of bags of Turbo yeast and is still in use today because I did my homework and used only distilling safe materials.

This one gets a gold medal from me........it would have to be the worst idea I have ever seen posted up in a thread on any distilling forum
Sorry Willem but you really do need to re-access what you are doing and if this hobby is really for you.

Willem, I can only repeat what the other guys here are saying, don't waste your time, and don't put yourself in danger with this

I understand that you are on a very tight budget.
I'm sure you could somehow scrounge, beg, borrow, swap, barter, exchange or even find, a bit of either stainless or copper tubing.

You seem to have a creative mind, so hold off a bit until you can get something safe for the condenser tube, then think outside the box a bit to get what you need within your budget.

jonnys_spirit wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2023 3:14 pm 6995E3C3-E8A9-4981-99CC-ABCF820DCA5D.jpeg

My eye was cut in half by a glass bottle when I was 12yo. I’m 52 now and still can’t see out if it. That’s a laceration scar across the top half.

Different circumstances but it does happen.

Cheers,
J

Why did you not show me that when we met? It sucks that happened but at this point in life it's just badass. I am also mostly blind in my left eye from being shot. We should get drunk in eye patches bruh

Chauncey wrote: ↑Sat Apr 08, 2023 3:29 am We should get drunk in eye patches bruh

I'll wear one for each of you